Relica WarsPublic game archive

What you actually do

There is always one more thing to worry about.

Relica Wars is a free browser strategy MMO about making difficult choices with limited resources. Grow your world, learn what your neighbours are hiding, and decide when it is worth sending ships into the dark.

The important bits

The fun is in how the pieces fit.

A new building changes your economy. A new technology changes what you can risk. A good recon report changes the value of a target. The best moments usually begin with a small decision that quietly changes everything after it.

Part of the plan

Build an economy

Start with people, metal, money, and a power grid that never gives you quite as much as you want. The hard part is deciding what to grow next.

Part of the plan

Choose a commander role

Pick the kind of commander you want to be—wealthy, dangerous, clever, or watchful—and build the rest of your round around that choice.

Part of the plan

Research lost technology

Train scientists and choose which old technologies are worth bringing back. Every branch opens new possibilities, but time and research are limited.

Part of the plan

Command fleets

Build frigates, destroyers, raiders, platforms, and defences. Then make sure you can crew them, power them, and replace them when a plan goes badly.

Part of the plan

Scout before you strike

Recon can turn a tempting target into a terrible idea—or reveal the opening you were waiting for. Information is often cheaper than a lost fleet.

Part of the plan

Face the machine empire

Talos and its machine commanders do not sit quietly while the human worlds grow. Their pressure keeps the galaxy moving when nobody is looking for a war.

Part of the plan

Hunt Relica Shards

The shards are prizes, clues, and trouble all at once. Finding one may change your fortunes, but it also brings the old questions back.

Part of the plan

Play planet-wide politics

A lone commander can get far. Councils, markets, treasuries, and shared war plans are how a world survives when far is no longer far enough.

How a round feels

A plan can change by the next revolution.

There is no single build order that carries you to victory. You queue a few buildings, watch the power grid, read a report, and discover that the sensible thing you planned five minutes ago is no longer the sensible thing to do.

  • Give your economy a little room before you start spending like a much larger empire.
  • Choose research that helps the plan you are actually playing, not the one you wish you had.
  • Scout before committing ships, missiles, resources, or a planet-wide war plan.
  • Ask your system for help when cooperation is worth more than pride.
  • Read the Relica Wars Guide when you want the numbers behind the decisions.

Ready to see how it plays?

Start with the guide, or take a step back and read the old story that sits underneath the game.